Chapter 4: Lesson 1A Century of Expansion

Expansion under Umayyad Rule

The Umayyads fought for Islam in the eastTheir leader, Muawiya, was also a soldier

Had built up a devoted army of followersAfter fourth caliph was assassinated, Muawiya took

control of the empire Moved the capital from Medina to Damascus Began the practice of appointing a son as the

next caliphUmayyads ruled for 90 years

Westward ExpansionUmayyads conquered, converted, and then joined forces with the

BerbersTogether, were able to conquer the Strait of GibraltarWere able to drive out Catholic Visigoths from SpainConquered almost the entire Spanish peninsula

Also interested in the Franks across the Pyrenees mountains Were defeated by the Franks at the Battle of Tours Determined that Europe would be Christian and not Muslim

An Empire of Many PeoplesThe Umayyad Muslims were generally

tolerant of Christians and JewsChristians and Jews had full religious

freedomAble to build churches and synagoguesWere not required to perform military

serviceRequired them to pay a tax called jizyaMany Christians, Jews, and other non-

Muslims held key government positionsEveryone paid taxes on produce and

Muslims were required to pay zakat, a charity tax

Umayyad Unity Abd al Malik declared Arabic to be the official language of the empire

Enabled the Umayyads to bring the diverse cultures of their empire under controlAll government business and religious affairs were conducted in Arabic

Abd al Malik was responsible for the first purely Muslim coins

Contained no images but had quotations from the Qur’an inscribed on them

Muslims built mosques throughout their empires so they could give thanks to Allah

Would be built with whatever materials were available but all contained a minaret, a mihrab, and an ablution fountain

The Umayyad DownfallThe Umayyads faced an economic shortage due to the decline in tax collections and the decrease in captured wealthKingdom had also gained the reputation of being too worldly and not focused enough on the ideals of the prophet MuhammadA rival group, the Abbasids, started a successful

rebellion against the Umayyad rulers An Abbasid general invide 80 Amayyad guests to a

banquet and then killed them all while they were eatingThe Muslim state was now divided again between

two ruling groups: the Umayyads and the Abbasids